1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a means for cleaning a screen and more specifically to the automatic cleaning of a lint screen for use in an automatic clothes dryer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A lint collector is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,886,900 issued to J. P. Flannery in which air passes from the inside to the outside of a stationary cylindrical screen and a rotatable auger driven by a ratchet mechanism from the rotating drum is provided within the cylinder to scrape the screen and move the uncompressed lint from the screen to a storage receptacle.
A moving screen cleaned by a stationary wiper within a vacuum cleaner is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,594,456 issued to H. A. Kroenlein.
A moving flat screen cleaned by a stationary wiper within an air conditioning apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,902,834 issued to C. M. Bosworth, Jr. and Raymond T. Divers.
Contemporary dryers generally have a lint handling system comprising a screen which is held stationary in a flow of exhaust air from the drum and which separates the lint from the air as it passes to the blower. The stationary lint screen must be removed at periodic intervals to be manually cleaned by the operator of the appliance.